LONDON — Britain's fleet of Sentry E-3D early warning aircraft has been effectively grounded while the Royal Air Force (RAF) rectifies electrical wiring and other issues on the aircraft.

The ‎six-strong fleet of aircraft has been affected for weeks, and the issue has resulted in Britain's allies having to step in and fill the gap on operations for NATO and the coalition mission against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.

The RAF has one Sentry‎ normally based in Cyprus as part of the British contribution, known as Operation Shader, to the mission against ISIS.